THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Welcome
back. I've got a few remarks I'd like to make. I
understand a couple of governors are going to make some remarks, and
then I'll be glad to answer some questions if you have any.

First, I again want to say what I said last night. This
has been a trying time for all of us. We've been tested here
in the Nation's Capital, but you all have been tested, as well, and I
want to congratulate you on your great leadership.

You know, the people of our country looked to all of us to
determine how we'd react after September 11th. And I was
impressed by the calm demeanor of the governors, and the steady resolve
to lead the people. The country cried for leadership, and
you all provided it. And thanks a lot for doing that.

I also love to welcome governors because governors are
problem-solvers. In this town, there's a lot of talkers, and
kind of problem-shufflers. But governors are
problem-solvers. And it's going to be good to be able to
talk to each other about how to solve problems that we
face -- budget problems, the issue of homeland
security, education, as well as welfare reform.

And I want to talk about three of them briefly today, and that's
homeland security -- first, I appreciate the
governor, the leadership. I want to thank Engler, and
Governor Patton for you hosting the NGA here and coming by the White
House.

I also want to thank my friend ,Tom Ridge. You know, he
was doing pretty good as the governor of Pennsylvania, just sitting
around -- (laughter) -- looking
for something to do. And I called him, and I said, we've got
a problem. We've got to secure our homeland. I
said, this is an enemy that wants to hit us again, and I said, we'd
better be ready. And I said, would you come and be a member
of my Cabinet, be sitting at my right hand there, and design a national
strategy for homeland security? And, fortunately, for the
country, he said yes. And he's doing a fine job.

And we've begun, as you all know, an extensive program to have a
better first responders initiative. And we've got $1.6
billion of new money in the budget for
that -- no -- yes,
$3.5 -- right. But I
mean -- for homeland, for first responders is how
much?

GOVERNOR RIDGE: We're
going -- different parts of it are going up, but
this $3.5 billion.

THE PRESIDENT: $3.5 billion. And then we've
got $1.6 billion for bioterrorism. And we're working on a
border security initiative, and we're reforming the INS.

As I like to tell people, we now need to know who's coming in and
when they're leaving, for the good of the security of the
country. I remember going up to Maine and talking about
strengthening the Coast Guard, which matters to those of you who live
on the oceans and on the Gulf of Mexico. The Coast Guard is
such a valuable part of our homeland security piece, and our budget
includes increases for the Coast Guard, a modernization of our fleet.

And so I'm real proud of the efforts we're making. And
obviously, you all play a crucial role in not only helping develop a
homeland defense strategy, but the implementation of the
strategy. And I think you'll find -- I
guess Tom has talked to you already -- that we
understand the need to coordinate. And both of us were
governors, and we simply do not want the federal government to
be -- seem distant and removed on this important
issue.

And then education. We passed a great education
bill. As I used to -- tease people, I
said it came as a complete shock to people in Crawford, Texas, that I
would say that Ted Kennedy did a great job on a bill, but he
did. This is a good piece of legislation, because it sets
clear priorities, it encourages accountability so that no child is quit
on, that people -- we focus on each individual
child.

It also provides states more flexibility than ever before, and it's
got some money in it. It's got more
Title -- a billion dollars in more Title I
money. It's got a substantial increase for the reading
initiative. It is a good piece of legislation. And now,
obviously it depends upon its implementation. And so we're
working closely with Rod Paige and the Department of Education to make
sure that the intent of the law is now implemented
fully. And we look forward to working with you on that.

Obviously -- I used to say that education is
to a governor what national defense is to the President. It
is by far the most important priority for a governor. And I
know that, and I understand that. And this bill
is -- it reflects that. And we'll make
sure the implementation of it reflects that, as well.

And then, welfare reform. Welfare authorization is
coming up. I start with the idea that the '96 bill was a
really good piece of legislation. And it changed welfare for
the better, primarily because it relied upon governors. It
had a substantial local control element in it. And so as we
reauthorize welfare, we want to make sure that there is substantial
authority at the local level.

We'll talk about funding. The budget I laid out for
welfare reform holds the grants constant. Actually, it
increases the -- as a result of the supplemental
and the contingency fund, it increases funding
by -- let's see, $3.2 billion over the next five
years, on top of the grants that are already in place.

And so the fundamental question is, will there be enough local
authority, enough flexibility at the local level to meet what I hope
Congress passes, which are new work requirements. See, I
think work ought to be the core of welfare reform. I think
in order to make sure that welfare reform works, that there's
flexibility at the states, that there's recognition people need
training or drug rehabilitation, but work ought to be the centerpiece
of a good welfare law.

And the bill I'm going to outline tomorrow, with Tommy at my
side -- where are you, Tommy? There he
is -- is going to take the positive pieces of the
'96 welfare law, changing welfare as we knew it, and we're going to
make it better. There's more to do, and we look forward to
working with you on that, as well.

And so those are the things that are on my mind. I know
you've got things on your mind, and I look forward to hearing them, and
we can have a good discussion today.

I want to welcome you back. I recognize I'm not exactly
Bernadette
Peters -- (laughter) -- but
she did a fabulous job last night to fill this hall. It was
such a joyous night, and it's particularly joyous for me and Laura to
be with our old friends, the governors.